Funniest Thing You've Read - Page 3

Bilbo1967 · 01-11-2012, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I do like British humor. But that book was just well.. cute at best. No real laughs.

Many people, me included, would disagree with you. Probably many would agree. It'd be a boring world if we all felt the same about everything

tch65721 · 01-12-2012, 02:20 PM

Hunters, hikers, campers and fishermen will enjoy Patrick McManus. If you don't enjoy any of these activities don't bother, you won't "get it". His books from the 80s are great but then he starts repeating himself.

Bookpossum · 01-12-2012, 10:27 PM

Depending how well you know the classics (Austen, Bronte, Dickens etc) you could well enjoy Jasper Fforde. I find him hilarious and SO clever. Start at the beginning of the series with "The Eyre Affair".

The books take place in a parallel Bookworld. Someone has kidnapped Jane Eyre out of the book and Thursday Next has to try to sort it all out.

Pulpmeister · 01-12-2012, 11:25 PM

I'm not an New Yorker, and not even American, but the late S J Perelman can still cause me to laugh out loud. His description of a meal in a Malayan hotel just after WW2 still produces belly laughs, and I can't read it out loud to an audience without me-and all of us-breaking up.

His Cloudland Revisited series of items - hilarious middle-aged reunions with sensational books that thrilled him in his teens - ought to go down well here, as the books themselves are nearly all on this site, and you can read them and see for yourself.

Tarzan of the Apes, by ERB : Rockabye Viscount in the Treetop.
Graustark, by George Barr McCutcheon: How Ruritanian Can You Get?
Three Weeks, by Elinor Glyn: Tuberoses and Tigers.
The Mystery of Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer: Why, Doctor, What big green eyes you have.
The Sheik, by E M Hull: Into Your Tent I'll Creep.
Black Oxen, by Gertrude Atherton: Lady, Play Your Endocrines.
Relenishing Jessica, by Maxwell Bodehmeim: Great Aches from little Boudoirs Grow.

and a few more from that period.

He also had fun with Spicy Detective, Captain Future and several other pulp magazines, and spoofed Raymond Chandler private eye stories(he knew Chandler).

layers · 10-02-2013, 05:26 PM

Alright. Three men in a boat IS funny. I actually laughed for good 10 min at places.

Is there anything similar to it? The type of humour where you say “Begin with breakfast.” (George is so practical.) “Now for breakfast we shall want a frying-pan” – (Harris said it was indigestible; but we merely urged him not to be an ass, and George went on)..."

HarryT · 10-03-2013, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

Depending how well you know the classics (Austen, Bronte, Dickens etc) you could well enjoy Jasper Fforde. I find him hilarious and SO clever. Start at the beginning of the series with "The Eyre Affair".

I found the first one mildly amusing, but it does get a little repetitive after a while.

carpetmojo · 10-03-2013, 01:11 PM

"Some Experiences of an Irish R.M." by Somerville & Ross ........................

Blissful.....also heavenly.....and hilarious .

And timeless.

artig · 10-04-2013, 03:33 AM

For slapstick humour along the lines of 'Allo, 'Allo anything by Tom Sharpe would qualify. Several of his books are now available as ebooks. For more subtle and intellectual humour I find both David Nobbs and David Lodge well worth reading.

jbjb · 10-04-2013, 04:03 AM

Spike Milligan's war memoirs, starting with "Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall".

/JB

issybird · 10-05-2013, 11:27 AM

No one's mentioned Evelyn Waugh's hilarious and macabre take on the American funeral industry, The Loved One, so clearly I must.

Quote:

Originally Posted by artig

For slapstick humour along the lines of 'Allo, 'Allo anything by Tom Sharpe would qualify. Several of his books are now available as ebooks. For more subtle and intellectual humour I find both David Nobbs and David Lodge well worth reading.

Since I love Messrs Sharpe and Lodge, I have to take your recommendation of David Nobbs very seriously! Thanks.

artig · 10-06-2013, 03:14 AM

There are quite a few David Nobbs books to choose from. The first 3 books in the Henry Pratt series are available in a single volume as The Complete Pratt. Volume 4 is Pratt a Manger. Amongst his later works are Going Gently, It Had To Be You, and Sex and Other Changes. Currently I'm reading A Bit of a Do and Fair Do's, which were made as a TV series many years ago. Unfortunately they don't seem to be available on DVD.

Being a fan of the radio series My Word and My Music with (amongst others) Frank Muir and Denis Norden I was surprised to learn recently that Frank Muir had written a novel, The Walpole Orange, shortly before he died. It's well worth a read for the wit and humour. His Oxford Book of Humorous Prose is somewhat older, and probably not available as an ebook. It contains a good selection of humorous prose from about 400 years of English literature.

Another of my favourite humorous authors is Peter Ustinov. His autobiography, Dear Me, and at least one of his novels are available as ebooks.

Solicitous · 10-06-2013, 04:30 AM

Does my current job description count???

I don't think I have really read anything funny. Bravemouth by Pamela Stephenson (book about her husband Billy Connolly) was entertaining, and is probably the closest to 'funniest' as I can get.

hildea · 10-06-2013, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by missimpossible

...anything by Terry Pratchett (apart from The Last Continent).

Oh, yeah, definitively Pratchett. Most of his works, at least. The Long Earth isn't very funny (but still an OK read, if not as good as his earlier work).

Good Omens by Pratchett and Gaiman is probably the funniest I've read. I was laughing out loud, and someone asked me what I was reading. I tried to explain (the end of the world as described in the Bible, angels and demons and Antichrist (except not quite)), and realized halfway through that the person I was talking with was very Christian and very much Not Amused

Quote:

25 And the Lord spake unto the Angel that guarded the eastern gate, saying 'Where is the flaming sword that was given unto thee?'
26 And the Angel said, 'I had it here only a moment ago, I must have put it down some where, forget my own head next.'
27 And the Lord did not ask him again.

Have you read Saki? Very dry humour, and great language.

Quote:

“After all,” said the Duchess vaguely, “there are certain things you can’t get away from. Right and wrong, good conduct and moral rectitude, have certain well-defined limits.”

“So, for the matter of that,” replied Reginald, “has the Russian Empire. The trouble is that the limits are not always in the same place.”

Team Human (first chapter here) by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan is really funny if you like vampire books, or hate vampire books (but probably not if you're meh to vampire books).

Quote:

“He could be a vampire.”

“Yeah, I can see it,” I said. “He moves with the predatory grace of a penguin.”

layers · 10-06-2013, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solicitous

Does my current job description count???

Are you a US congressman or a menopausal elephant scientist?

Greg Anos · 10-06-2013, 09:43 PM

Here's one that should be right up your alley.

M.A.S.H. (the first book). They had to clean up parts of it to make the movie (and that was in 1970, when anything went....Except Shaking Sammy.)

If you like epigrams, check out Helen Rowland at Project Gutenberg. I'd recommend you start with Reflections of a Bachelor Girl.

If you can tolerate really bad writing, you could try my The Case of the Golden Coprolite here in the Patrica Clarke library.

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01-12-2012, 02:20 PM	#32
tch65721 Fanatic Posts: 500 Karma: 3858956 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Kindle Oasis, Fire 10", Android phone	Hunters, hikers, campers and fishermen will enjoy Patrick McManus. If you don't enjoy any of these activities don't bother, you won't "get it". His books from the 80s are great but then he starts repeating himself.

01-12-2012, 10:27 PM	#33
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,146 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	Depending how well you know the classics (Austen, Bronte, Dickens etc) you could well enjoy Jasper Fforde. I find him hilarious and SO clever. Start at the beginning of the series with "The Eyre Affair". The books take place in a parallel Bookworld. Someone has kidnapped Jane Eyre out of the book and Thursday Next has to try to sort it all out.

01-12-2012, 11:25 PM	#34
Pulpmeister Wizard Posts: 2,873 Karma: 29145056 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Perth Western Australia Device: kindle	I'm not an New Yorker, and not even American, but the late S J Perelman can still cause me to laugh out loud. His description of a meal in a Malayan hotel just after WW2 still produces belly laughs, and I can't read it out loud to an audience without me-and all of us-breaking up. His Cloudland Revisited series of items - hilarious middle-aged reunions with sensational books that thrilled him in his teens - ought to go down well here, as the books themselves are nearly all on this site, and you can read them and see for yourself. Tarzan of the Apes, by ERB : Rockabye Viscount in the Treetop. Graustark, by George Barr McCutcheon: How Ruritanian Can You Get? Three Weeks, by Elinor Glyn: Tuberoses and Tigers. The Mystery of Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer: Why, Doctor, What big green eyes you have. The Sheik, by E M Hull: Into Your Tent I'll Creep. Black Oxen, by Gertrude Atherton: Lady, Play Your Endocrines. Relenishing Jessica, by Maxwell Bodehmeim: Great Aches from little Boudoirs Grow. and a few more from that period. He also had fun with Spicy Detective, Captain Future and several other pulp magazines, and spoofed Raymond Chandler private eye stories(he knew Chandler).

10-02-2013, 05:26 PM	#35
layers Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: PRS-T1	Alright. Three men in a boat IS funny. I actually laughed for good 10 min at places. Is there anything similar to it? The type of humour where you say “Begin with breakfast.” (George is so practical.) “Now for breakfast we shall want a frying-pan” – (Harris said it was indigestible; but we merely urged him not to be an ass, and George went on)..."

10-03-2013, 01:11 PM	#37
carpetmojo Wizard Posts: 3,117 Karma: 9269999 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: UK Device: Sony- T3, PRS650, 350, T1/2/3, Paperwhite, Fire 8.9,Samsung Tab S 10.5	"Some Experiences of an Irish R.M." by Somerville & Ross ........................ Blissful.....also heavenly.....and hilarious . And timeless.

10-04-2013, 03:33 AM	#38
artig Zealot Posts: 138 Karma: 681012 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: New Zealand Device: kobo, kindle pw	For slapstick humour along the lines of 'Allo, 'Allo anything by Tom Sharpe would qualify. Several of his books are now available as ebooks. For more subtle and intellectual humour I find both David Nobbs and David Lodge well worth reading.

10-04-2013, 04:03 AM	#39
jbjb Somewhat clueless Posts: 788 Karma: 11000001 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis	Spike Milligan's war memoirs, starting with "Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall". /JB

10-06-2013, 03:14 AM	#41
artig Zealot Posts: 138 Karma: 681012 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: New Zealand Device: kobo, kindle pw	There are quite a few David Nobbs books to choose from. The first 3 books in the Henry Pratt series are available in a single volume as The Complete Pratt. Volume 4 is Pratt a Manger. Amongst his later works are Going Gently, It Had To Be You, and Sex and Other Changes. Currently I'm reading A Bit of a Do and Fair Do's, which were made as a TV series many years ago. Unfortunately they don't seem to be available on DVD. Being a fan of the radio series My Word and My Music with (amongst others) Frank Muir and Denis Norden I was surprised to learn recently that Frank Muir had written a novel, The Walpole Orange, shortly before he died. It's well worth a read for the wit and humour. His Oxford Book of Humorous Prose is somewhat older, and probably not available as an ebook. It contains a good selection of humorous prose from about 400 years of English literature. Another of my favourite humorous authors is Peter Ustinov. His autobiography, Dear Me, and at least one of his novels are available as ebooks.

10-06-2013, 04:30 AM	#42
Solicitous Wizard Posts: 1,434 Karma: 1525776 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: TAS, Australia Device: Astak Pocket Pro (Black), 2 x Kindle WiFi (Graphite), iPod Touch 4G	Does my current job description count??? I don't think I have really read anything funny. Bravemouth by Pamela Stephenson (book about her husband Billy Connolly) was entertaining, and is probably the closest to 'funniest' as I can get.

10-06-2013, 09:43 PM	#45
Greg Anos Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,545 Karma: 37057604 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Pocketbook	Here's one that should be right up your alley. M.A.S.H. (the first book). They had to clean up parts of it to make the movie (and that was in 1970, when anything went....Except Shaking Sammy.) If you like epigrams, check out Helen Rowland at Project Gutenberg. I'd recommend you start with Reflections of a Bachelor Girl. If you can tolerate really bad writing, you could try my The Case of the Golden Coprolite here in the Patrica Clarke library.